Advent Study Guide: Week Two
December 9, 2024 Messengers of the Heavenly Host
Scripture: Genesis 16:6b-11, 13 (NIV)
Winged guardians of the way to life
MONDAY 12.9.24 Genesis 3:21-24
This is the first place in the Bible that we find the Hebrew word cherubim. (Hebrew historians likely put Genesis into the written form we have during or after Israel’s exile some 550 years before Christ.*) Cherubim “are described in the Old Testament as the carriers of God and the guardians of sacred things… in Psalm 18:10 the Lord rides on a cherub in the thunderstorm. In 1 Kings 6:23–28, two large cherubim hold their wings over the ark in the temple to protect it and provide a seat for the Lord.”**
- What spiritual impact does the Genesis image of cherubim keeping humans away from the “tree of life” have? “The closing part of the parable represents the awareness that we live in a world that is not paradise. It is not directly our individual fault, but we cannot find our way there unless God lets us do so.”*** It says we are mortal, and only God’s mercy can give us eternal life. Our culture hates to think about it, but how does realizing our mortality make us aware of our need for God?
- Before describing the cherubim with flaming swords, Genesis 3 gave a symbolic hint that God could restore humanity’s access to the source of life. Genesis 3:15 said God told the tempting snake that the woman’s offspring “will strike your head, but you will strike at their heels.” The snake’s way (distrusting God) would cause much pain, but God would defeat the serpent. How thankful are you that God immediately began a process that reopened the way to life?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, Genesis didn’t know how you would “crush” the serpent’s head. But I know that by giving your own life you opened the way for me to access the tree of life. Thank you—help me to share the wonderful news. Amen.
* To read in more depth about the writing of Genesis, see Theodore Hiebert, “Introduction to Genesis” in The CEB Study Bible. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2013, p. 1-3 OT.
** William D. Reyburn and Euan McG. Fry, A Handbook on Genesis. New York: United Bible Societies, 1997, p. 100.
*** John Goldingay, Genesis for Everyone, Part 1: Chapters 1–16. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010, p. 61.
Stars as one part of the heavenly host
TUESDAY 12.10.24 Judges 5:19-21, Psalm 148:3; Job 38:7
“The ‘heavenly hosts’ made famous by English translations of the Bible have two distinct meanings: one is a reference to the stars; the other to God’s celestial armies, presumably of angels.”* Don’t forget in Biblical times there were no telescopes, and people didn’t think of stars at all in the way we do. One way ancient Hebrews thought of the vast number of stars they saw in the night skies was as mysterious heavenly beings who served God.
- Judges 5:20 was from a poem a prophet named Deborah composed to celebrate a victory over Sisera, a foreign general who had oppressed the Israelites. The poem implied that heavy rain, probably a flood, kept Sisera from using his chariots against the Israelites. Deborah said poetically the stars sent the rain. But she didn’t worship the stars. They served God: “To the LORD I will sing” (Judges 5:3). Do you believe God, at times, works through what we might call “natural” events?
- Psalm 148 showed another vital aspect of the Hebrew view of the stars as part of the “heavenly hosts.” Unlike many of the neighboring nations, the Hebrew prophets and poets did not exalt the heavenly bodies as gods. (When they did, the prophets firmly rebuked the practice—cf. Ezekiel 8:16-17.) Instead, sun, moon and stars “offer praise to God… as well as testifying to God’s sovereign power.”** How do a colorful sunset or a dazzling starry night move you to praise God?
Prayer: Creator God, today we know that you did not just make a lovely world for us to live in. You created a vast universe, with awesome beauty and profound mysteries. Help me value and rejoice in your amazing creativity! Amen.
* Article “Heavenly Armies/Host” in in Leland Ryken, James C. Wilhoit and Tremper Longman III, general editors, Dictionary of Biblical Imagery. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1998, p. 372.
** Ibid., p. 373.
Isaiah’s vision: seraphim praising God
WEDNESDAY 12.11.24 Isaiah 6:1-8
Uzziah was the king of Judah for 52 years (cf. 2 Chronicles 26:3). No doubt Jerusalem was abuzz
with speculation about who would succeed the recently deceased king when Isaiah had the vision he reported in today’s passage. But the prophet didn’t speak to the earthly politics of who might take the throne. Instead, his vision reminded the people of Judah that their true king then, as always, was the God of heaven (verse 5). Now that our presidential election is over, that’s a valuable reminder for us.
- “Repetition in Hebrew, as in other languages, provides emphasis—in this case, of the superlative holiness of God…. Holiness is not an attribute associated with gods in other cultures of the ancient world.”* In the religions of nations around Israel, gods had power but lacked holiness. People feared them and tried to placate them but did not trust them. What made God’s holiness so important in Isaiah’s vision? Does it cause you more fear of God, or more love for your savior?
- This is the only place in the Bible to mention “seraphim.” “Seraphim are one of two types of heavenly beings Isaiah mentioned, the other being ‘cherubim’ (37:16). The latter, with a single pair of wings, are associated closely with the throne (presumably as guardians), while the seraphim are flying above it. The term for “seraphim” literally means “burning.”** How did the meaning of the Hebrew word fit the seraphim’s (i.e., “burning one’s”) cleansing action in verses 6-7?
Prayer: King of the universe, beyond all earthly rulers, I offer you my allegiance. I thank you that, like Isaiah, I can trust your holiness to cleanse and equip me for whatever you call me to. Amen.
* NIV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible (p. 6021). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
** NIV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible (p. 6020). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
“Sabaoth”—Lord of heavenly forces
THURSDAY 12.12.24 Psalm 46:1-11
We most often read Psalm 46 at times of personal pain—serious illnesses or funerals. Israel lived in in a violent, dangerous part of the world, so the psalmist likely thought about the tumult of the nations in writing this message. The traditional King James Version translation of Psalm 46:10 is, “Be still.” But the Hebrew did not refer to going to a quiet mountain retreat. It was a call to say “enough” to our noisy inner fears, and with them silenced, to recognize God as our place of safety.
- Psalm 46 used the phrase “The LORD of heavenly forces” twice (from the Hebrew “Sabaoth,” also in Isaiah 6:5 we read yesterday and nearly 300 times in the Old Testament). Eugene Peterson paraphrased the Hebrew as “GOD-of-angel-armies.”* Enjoy superhero stories? Reflect on the psalmist’s daring image showing God and the heavenly army God leads able to overcome all earthly forces. What makes it good news for you that the “GOD-of-angel-armies” is on your side?
- The psalm asserted, right at the start, that God is “a help always near in times of great trouble.” “More literally, the Hebrew says God is ‘much to be found,’ easy to find. You just have to turn to him.”** Sadly, it’s often in times of great trouble that we are most reluctant to turn trustingly to God. “How could God let this happen to me?” we think. But that’s when you most need God’s presence. How can you make it almost a reflex to call on your God, who is “much to be found”?
Prayer: God of angel armies, so often this world feels scary, and you don’t always wave a magic wand to make bad things vanish. Help me more fully understand and trust the ways in which you are my “place of safety”—always. Amen.
* Peterson, Eugene H., The Message Numbered Edition Hardback. Navpress. Kindle Edition. Click here to hear how Chris Tomlin used that phrase in his song “Who Shall I Fear?”
** John Goldingay, Psalms for Everyone, Part 1: Psalms 1-72. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2014, p. 148.
Jesus’ very different idea of “power”
FRIDAY 12.13.24 Matthew 26:47-56, Philippians 2:5-8
Peter the disciple often showed natural human reactions (cf., Matthew 16:21-23). Jesus regularly reminded Peter that things were different in “the kingdom of heaven.” That came vividly to the fore when a large armed crowd came to arrest Jesus. “When someone swung a sword around in among the olive trees in dark Gethsemane, thinking it was his God-given duty to defend Jesus, Jesus told him not to bother. In fact, he told him… people who live by the sword tend to die by the sword.”*
- Peter tried a conventional armed response to the crowd arresting Jesus. Jesus told him that if he wanted to use force, much more was available than one Galilean fisherman’s sword. That crowd, whatever its size, would certainly be no match for around 60,000 or more angels! But “Jesus consistently resists the use of force as a sign of the kingdom (e.g., Mt 10:7–10, cf. Lk 22:49–51).”** How could Peter imagine that Jesus’ self-giving was victory, not defeat?
- Imagine that you oversaw strategy for God’s plan to come to earth in person. It’s Advent, so how would you have had Jesus be born? Would you have chosen poor peasant parents, a small Judean village, only shepherds (a low-prestige occupation), and foreigners even noticing his birth? Later, a “career path” that led to a cross? The early Christian hymn that Philippians 2 quoted said “he emptied himself.” What does that tell you about the counter-cultural nature of Jesus’ kingdom?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, your Kingdom is not of this world—yet, for now, I have to live here. Give me wisdom to know how to live as one of your disciples in a world that too often rejects you. Amen.
* Wright, N. T., Matthew for Everyone, Part 2: Chapters 16-28 (The New Testament for Everyone) (p. 162). Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press. Kindle Edition.
** Article “Army/Armies” in in Leland Ryken, James C. Wilhoit and Tremper Longman III, general editors, Dictionary of Biblical Imagery. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1998, p. 48.